As Nigeria becomes the Africa’s biggest telecom market,MTN plans to expand lending across Nigeria’s market as it seek regulatory approval that will allow it’s fintech arm’s capability to deliver a comprehensive suite of financial services.
“While we have successfully expanded credit access for more people, our goal is to move higher up the lending value chain,” said Serigne Dioum, MTN Group Fintech CEO, at Wednesday’s capital markets event. “Where strategic, we will pursue licenses that transition us from just facilitating loans to lending directly to customers using our own balance sheet.”
MTN’s strategy shows its ambition to capture a larger share of Africa’s underserved credit market, where formal lending remains severely constrained despite rising demand. Data highlights the scale of this opportunity: a 2025 National Credit Guarantee Company (NCGC) report reveals that nearly 80% of Nigerian MSMEs lack access to formal credit, while research from Stears estimates the sector faces a staggering $236 billion funding gap.
Nigeria sits at the heart of this expansion plans, MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita said the company is pursuing additional license Nigeria to expand its financial services offerings to disclose the specific licence being sought. The expansion is beyond Nigeria. According to Serigne Dioum, CEO of MTN Group Fintech, only 4% to 5% of adults across the continent currently have access to formal credit, leaving a massive, high-yield market completely untouched by traditional banks.
This move comes as MTN’s financial tech division experiences massive growth. In 2025, the fintech business generated $2.8 billion in revenue and processed $500 billion across 23 billion individual transactions. MTN now counts over 70 million active MoMo users, backed by a powerful network of 2 million merchants and 1.4 million agents across the continent.
According to this report, MTN needs this expansion cause its represents the next major growth frontier.
Right now, MTN helps people get loans by partnering with other banks. Every day, over one million people use MTN to get quick loans to run small businesses, buy stock, or pay for emergencies like hospital bills.
But instead of just helping other banks lend money, MTN wants to lend the money itself. This switch would make MTN a lot more money and give them total control over how customers experience their service.
This plan makes sense because MTN believes Africa’s fintech market is about to explode. They estimate that financial tech revenues on the continent could grow up to 13 times larger over the next five years. Even though digital apps are growing fast, over 90% of buying and selling in Africa is still done with cash. This means there is still a massive opportunity for MTN to grow in everyday payments, sending money (remittances), and lending. According to Dioum, these three services will drive the future of finance in Africa.
In Nigeria, MTN is already setting up its big financial plans. Back in November 2024, MTN Nigeria applied for two new licences called PSSP and PTSP through its mobile money business, MoMo PSB. MTN’s CEO, Ralph Mupita, recently confirmed that they are still waiting for approval. Getting these licences means MTN won’t have to rely on other companies to handle payments anymore, giving them more control over the market.
The first licence (PSSP) will let MoMo PSB handle online payments, process cards, and connect business owners directly to payment systems. The second licence (PTSP) will let them roll out, service, and build software for PoS card machines. This means they can train and support shop owners and local agents directly.
On top of that, MTN wants to legally split its financial branch from its main telecom business in Nigeria. While shareholders have already agreed to this split, they are still waiting for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to give the final okay. Mupita explained that these separations take time because they are completely new to Nigerian regulators, who want to make sure the split is done without paying unnecessary taxes.
